So i bought the car very recently. 91 n/a with ~156000 miles.

I drove it home just fine and even started it the next day fine. Then the next day (today) it billowed out a huge amount of smoke on startup. About 40 degrees outside at about 6:30. The smell was not entirely sweet. More like burning gas but not quite. Then it finally stopped and the idle started to drop to about 1300. Then to 1000 but i noticed that the cabin was smoky. It was coming through the firewall near the id10t light. I turned on the air to push it out.

Then i stopped the car after it got to normal operating temp. I popped the hood and noticed that the smoke was coming from what i think is the exhaust manifold near the bottom end of the engine (sorry ... new to rotary... passenger side, can be seen pretty clearly if you're standing near pass front tire looking towards the firewall).

Please help me figure out and diagnose the problem. I just bought this car and dont want to have to rebuild nothin yet.

 

probably just an exhaust gasket then. Probably needs a tune up as well, badly.

 

you might have something leaking on to your exhaust manifold...check for coolant leaks, gas leaks...etc....

also i would keep a fire extenguisher in your car at all times..... every 7 owner should

 

Gas fires typically don;t have huge amounts of smoke, but I would be checking the PD before anything else if it smelled like gas.

If it smelled like plastic I would be checking to see if there is a shorted electrical harness somewhere

 

Oh... and also I waited for like 15 mins and started it up. Started just fine. There's a lot of smoke though, like a huge burnout or something so im not so sure it was something leaking on the manifold. It would have had to expunge all the coolant if it were to be that much smoke. I also checked the coolant level before and afterwards and it spurted out a bit afterwards (cuz it was still warm). So i assume the coolant is fine. I haven't been able to check for bubbles yet though. I should have the first time but i forgot. If it's the gasket than it should be smoking every time shouldn't it?

 

well i figured out how it was geting through the firewall... it doesn't smoke as much anymore but i'd still like to figure it out. changing oil this weekend so i'll see whats up

 

the fiberglass lining on my heat sheild burnt all up once. i couldnt figure out what the smell was for a while but it started smoking from under the car and when i checked out the heat sheild it was blackened on the inside. if the sheilds are rusty they will burn too.

check the coolent hose on the rear of the intake manifold for leaks.

check your injector O rings

speaking of electrical shorts... check the connectors right above the ecxaust manifold for melting. one of mine melted right in half.

 

The connectors seem to be ok. Close but not necessarily resting on the manifold. I can check the hose for leaks but the smoke is apparently not from a leak (in the exterior sense). It seems to be coming from the point where the exhaust connects to the manifold near the tranny.

 

ok... saw a very telltale sign... although im not that car inclined so here it is... blue smoke (oil) mixed with some black smoke (fuel) coming out of the flange where the cat is connected to the precat.

mind you i have an Apexi exhaust system. smoke was coming out of there kinda like a teakettle on startup... after it warmed up it continued for a few seconds then stopped. i also did the oil change saturday... let it run for a lil while on sunday (just warmed up) with 20w50....

please any words of wisdom please...

 

words of wisdom,,,,

new gasket?

put thread sealent on your bolts and torque them properly.

 

i figured as much but what about the smoke? the previous owner put the exhaust on for smog cert. shouldnt have passed smog in that condition right?

 

...anyone?

Also i noticed the smoke is black and blue/white. hard to tell the color from under the car but i do see black. Could a precat be fried?

 

Thick Oil Dripping Out Of The Aforementioned Section Of The Exhaust.

Rebuild Time (money I Really Didnt Wanna Spend Right Now)

Karack-
Please Help Me!!!